Specialized Diverge - Spanish Laplands Edition
Every year Steffen Root, co-owner of Berkshire Bike and Board, and his high school buddies put together a bike packing trip. First off was Cuba a few years back and they’ve stayed pretty consistent with it ever since. This year they are heading off to the Spanish Laplands, a super remote area in SE Spain with a population density similar to its Finnish namesake.
Below is an excerpt from a conversation with one of the riders getting ready for this year's trip. Stay tuned for more articles like this to come on the rest of the gang's bikes!
We talked about a lot of handlebar options, what made you decide to go with the Redshifts?
I found the redshift bars and initially was intrigued by the kitchen sink model but then after going on a few rides with the bike with standard drop bars I was looking to get a little more rise in the front end. This bar gives a 50mm rise and is a little wider then what I had.
Thoughts on why you chose a rear mounted rack rather than a bikepacking style saddle bag?
I went with the rack because I want to have as many options as possible. I'm running with 2 small Revelate Nano Panniers and still have plenty of space to strap all sorts of things on the top of the rack. The reason for these bags is they are small and I'm less likely to overpack them and they are super light. I'm not in love with the lighter color but oh well!
What are you going to pack to prepare yourself for mechanicals out in literally the middle of nowhere?
I'm going to be running tubeless tires with sealant and have a Dynaplug pill with 6 plugs and also carrying one lightweight Tubolito inner tube.
I'll have a small pump, multi bike tool and possibly my trusty Leatherman multitool.
I'm also optimistic that Steffen will be there to fix any little problems.
Who's the weakest link in the group . . . ? LoL Steffen?
Everyone in the group is stepping up their pre-trip preparations from getting in more saddle time to losing weight. I'm thinking some of the challenges will show up after a few long days or if the gear we were counting on doesn't work out as expected.
Because your bike isn't a foldable option, how are you going to pack it to get it on the plane?
I am planning on using a standard semi protected bike bag that I still need to procure.
ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BRING STOVES TO COOK ON OR WILL YOU BE EATING ALL YOUR MEALS AT HOTEL TYPE PLACES?
We are planning to bring a few stoves for cooking. I have the MSR Windburner 1.0L with a French press filter for coffee. Most of us are looking forward to some coffee in the morning and I'd like to be able to make something warm for a dinner or 2. I still haven't even lit my stove and also have no personal experience with dehydrated or freeze-dried food but that is coming soon so I'm optimistic that it will be just fine.
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What part of Spain are you most excited to check out?
Honestly, I care less about where we are going and am more excited about the adventure. I'm excited about the potentially remoteness of the area of Spain where we are going to be. It is possible that we won't encounter many people in the cores of most of our riding but I think that if something really serious happened we could find help and get out.I would like to have seen some of the coastline but that will be for another trip.